Fine
by Cindy Ryan
Summary: Lucy Chen was really tired of those four letters. Post fall finale


Title: Fine

author: Cindy Ryan

Spoilers: all

It was four letters,but Officer Lucy Chen was very, very tired of those four letters. Six weeks after her abduction she was trying to convince herself and everyone else that she was fine. Lucy thought she'd succeeded. She'd gotten past the department tests and mandatory psych exam. She'd went through the mandatory counseling which Lucy had to admit had helped with the nightmares. They were coming less frequently now. The claustrophobia she was still dealing with and the doctor told her she might always have it.

Now on Christmas Eve she and Tim were responding to a security alarm at a clothing warehouse near Long Beach. It was almost midnight and with how huge the building was; they'd split up. Lucy was almost regretting that decision. Even with her flashlight the darkness was suffocating her. Lucy tried to shake it off and take deep breaths. She forced her feet to move. Slowly the high powered flashlight started to win the war on the darkness. Lucy started to feel better.

Halfway through her search Lucy was towards the middle of the warehouse. Crates towering five up and stacked close together crated narrow walkways. The claustrophobia struck, but Lucy fought it and was able to continue the search. She and Tim were checking in with each other every fifteen minutes. Suddenly the flashlight was knocked from her hand. Lucy held tight to her gun as she looked around. A large dark shape rushed past and Lucy grabbed and managed to hold onto the nearest arm of the intruder.

"LAPD!"Lucy shouted as she threw all her weight and took down the intruder she knew now was a man.

They hit the cement floor hard. Something had hit her flashlight causing it to spin and send crazy light shafts onto the crates. Lucy placed her right knee in the small of the man's back and holstered her weapon. She pulled his arms around securing them with her handcuffs. Lucy radioed her partner telling him she had an arrest.

"Good work boot. Be right there."Bradford replied.

Just as she ended the call the warehouse thief rolled his body and got his legs free. Lucy tumbled but held on to the man's wrists. The man swung his legs using them as a weapon. They caught Lucy in the waist. She fell into the nearest stack of crates hitting her head. Lucy's vision swam but she got to her feet. She blinked the spots away and tackled the intruder crashing them both to the ground. Lucy heard running footsteps and knew her T.O had her the scuffle. Seconds later her radio crackled to life.

"Boot?"Tim asked with concern. "Everything okay?"

"It it is now."Lucy affirmed slightly out of breath as she hauled the intruder to his feet.

A flashlight broke through the darkness as Tim neared them. She blinked as the circle of light grew stronger. Turning Lucy took a good look at the man she'd arrested. He was slightly heavy set, dressed head to toe in black with a ski mask covering his face.

"You alone?"Tim demanded of the intruder.

The man remained silent.

"Call it in; we'll need another unit to search the rest of the place."Tim ordered.

Lucy nodded and together they escorted the man back to the shop and put him in the backseat. Lucy breathed in the fresh air deeply happy to see the moon above and the familiar palm trees silhouetted against the streetlights. Lucy leaned back against the SUV as she made the radio call to dispatch. She heard Tim get something out of the shop before coming back to her. Tim opened the first aid kit and took out a piece of gauze. Lucy was startled when Tim reached and dabbed the left side of her forehead with the soft fabric.

"You're bleeding."Tim said gently.

Lucy turned and looked at her reflection in the passenger side window provided by a nearby streetlight. There was a large spot of blood on the left side of her forehead.

"I hit the crate."Lucy explained quietly as she reached for the blood.

"Might need a stitch or two."Tim commented as he turned her back around. "You did good in there, boot. I thought with it being so dark that it might..."

"Remind me?"Lucy finished grimly as she grasped his right wrist as he dabbed the cut. "I'm fine."

"You don't have anything to prove."Tim admonished. "Trauma of any kind takes down the strongest of us. Recovery time is normal."

Lucy nodded and Tim continued to tend to her cut. She thought back to her confinement in the barrel. The dark thoughts towards the end when the air was thin. When Lucy thought she'd never see blue sky and daylight again. That she'd never see her friends or family. Never achieve her goal of being a police officer.

Lucy would never forget the first face she'd seen once her eyes had adjusted to the daylight again. Tim had been the one to pull her out of the barrel. His face had been pale and grim and with smudges of drit. She remembered later that his hands had had dirt on them as well. They'd been digging; looking for her. Lucy still didn't know how long they'd searched. Didn't really want to know.

Sirens indicated their backup was approaching. Lucy shoved the memories away with an effort. As Tim finished cleaning the blood away Lucy realized something. As much as she hated that four letter word she'd been reciting over and over the last few weeks she was getting a step closer. Lucy wasn't completely fine yet but she was getting there.

end


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